Athletes Jo Pavey and Wendy Sly to collect honours

Two women athletes who have represented Britain on the world stage are to be honoured by the Princess Royal.

Four-time Olympian Jo Pavey, 42, last year became the oldest female to win the 10,000m gold in the European Championships, 10 days after winning the 5,000m bronze in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and just 10 months after giving birth to her second child.

She will be awarded the MBE for services to athletics alongside Wendy Sly, 56, an Olympic medallist, who won a memorable 3,000m silver at the 1984 Los Angeles games and continues to support young British athletes.

The Princess Royal is due to honour the women at Windsor Castle, where renowned clarinettist and conductor Michael Collins will also receive an MBE for services to music.

The 52-year-old is considered to be one of the leading clarinettists of his generation. He made his debut at the New York Carnegie Hall aged 22 and, since his first performance in 1984, has returned to the BBC Proms more often than any other woodwind soloist.